Shungiku Chrysanthemum Greens with Sesame Dressing

The slightly bitter taste of chrysanthemum greens combined with flavorful sesame: a match made in heaven!

Photographed by Taku Kudo

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Recipe by
Hideko Noguchi

Easy

Vegetables

Healthy

70kcal

20minutes

Does not inclue time needed for soaking the crysanthemum leaves.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

1 bunch shungiku chrysanthemum greens

3-4 tbsp black sesame seeds

1 1/2-2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp soy sauce

Salt

Directions

1

Crisp the shungiku by soaking in a generous amount of water for half an hour or so.

2

Add a pinch of salt to a pot of boiling water and blanch the shungiku a few stems at a time. Rinse under running water until cool and drain. Squeeze out excess water, then arrange the shungiku so that the stems are aligned, and cut into 3 cm lengths.

3

Pour the black sesame seeds into a small pan and warm over medium heat until fragrant. Transfer to a suribachi grinding bowl.

4

Grind the sesame by pressing the pestle against the bowl. When the consistency is that of miso, add the sugar and grind until the granules are invisible. Add the soy sauce and combine.

Advice

Once the black hulls are separated, the seeds will start to look white, but will turn black again with further grinding. Thoroughly grind the seeds and sugar into a smooth paste before adding the soy sauce. The liquid will make it difficult to grind the sugar granules.

5

Add shungiku into the bowl and mix well.

Tips

[Suribachi] A mortar. Japanese mortars have radial patterned dents on the inner side to make ingredients into particulate pieces or paste.